Iliamna Lake or Lake Iliamna ( ; ; ) is a lake in southwest

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, at the north end of the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...

, between Kvichak Bay and

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

, about west of Seldovia, Alaska. It shares a name with the Iliamna River, which flows into it, and the nearby community of Iliamna, Alaska. It is the largest lake in

, 7th largest lake in the United States, and twenty-fourth in North America. Covering about , Iliamna Lake is long and up to wide, with a maximum depth of . Through the Kvichak River, its waters drain into

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

History

Name

The lake is marked as 'Oz roBol

hoy Hoy may refer to: People Given name * Hoy Menear (died 2023), American politician * Hoy Phallin (born 1995), Cambodian footballer * Hoy Wong (1920–2009), American bartender Surname * Hoy (surname), a Scottish and Irish surname * H� ...

Ilyamna' (Big Ilyamna Lake) on the Russian Hydrographical Department's Chart 1455, published in 1852. On an earlier Russian map, from 1802, the lake was named 'Oz roShelekhovo' (Lake Shelekov) after Russian explorer Grigory Shelekhov. According to G.C. Martin, of the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

, Iliamna is said to be "the name of a mythical great

blackfish Blackfish is a common name for various species of fishes and cetaceans, including: Fish * Alaska blackfish (''Dallia pectoralis''), an Esocidae, esocid from Alaska, Siberia, and the Bering Sea islands * Black fish (''Carassioides acuminatus''), ...

supposed to inhabit this lake, which bites holes in the bidarkas of bad natives." The name Iliamna is derived from the Inland Dena'ina Athabascan name ''Nila Vena,'' which means "island's lake".

Economy

Williamsport-Pile Bay Road portage

Originally constructed by the Alaska Road Commission during the mid 1930s, the Williamsport-Pile Bay Road is a utility-class road maintained by the

Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (Alaska DOT&PF) is a department within the government of Alaska. Its headquarters are in Alaska's capital city, Juneau. The mission of Alaska DOT&PF is to "''Keep Alaska Moving through ...

. Connecting Pile Bay on the lake's northeast side with Williamsport, a tiny settlement on the Iliamna Bay of

(about southwest of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

), the road is long and one lane wide with four bridges. The Williamsport-Pile Bay Road is maintained as a gravel utility road for the purpose of hauling boats and freight, and is not intended for general purpose use. The road allows boats small enough to be hauled across the road's bridges an opportunity to

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

from Cook Inlet to

, saving a trip on the open ocean which involves traveling around the

. For this and other reasons, the road is also believed to significantly reduce fuel costs for the Lake Iliamna and Bristol Bay regions.

Populated places

The villages of Iliamna, Newhalen, Kokhanok, Pedro Bay, Pope-Vannoy Landing and Igiugig lie on the shores of Iliamna Lake.

Flora and fauna

Iliamna Lake is noted for its

sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

. The three primary targets of anglers in the lake are trout, salmon, and grayling. August through September is prime time for catching fat

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

, some of which exceed 28 inches long. The Kvichak River Policy (the drainage of Lake Iliamna) is

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture the fish is Fish hook, unhooked and returned live to the water. Originally adopted in the United Kingdom by Coarse fishing, coarse fishermen to Overfishing, preser ...

on trout (and all other native fish), but not on salmon. Sockeye (red) and Chinook (king) salmon are consistently found in the lake and are open to harvest under Alaska Department of Fish and Game Regulations. Lake Iliamna also has one of few populations of

freshwater seal Freshwater seals are pinnipeds which live in freshwater bodies. The group is paraphyletic in nature, the uniting factor being the environment in which these pinnipeds live. The vast majority of all modern seals live solely in saltwater habitats ...

s in the world. It also serves as a nursery for the largest red salmon run in the world. Red salmon spend half of their 5-year lifespan in fresh water. This is longer than any other species of salmon.

Monster legend

Local residents have a number of stories about the alleged Iliamna Lake Monster, an unknown aquatic creature. Speculation exists that reported sightings may be of an undocumented population of white sturgeon. If true, this would be the most northerly population known to exist, just a few hundred miles from the Arctic Circle.

Jeremy Wade Jeremy John Wade (born 23 March 1956) is a British television presenter, an author of books on angling, and a biologist. He is known for his television series '' River Monsters'', ''Mighty Rivers'' and ''Dark Waters''. He is regarded as one of th ...

, presenter of Animal Planet's River Monsters, is among those who speculate these sightings of a reputed "monster" are of a white sturgeon. Others believe that it is a Pacific sleeper shark. Proponents of this theory point to a 2012 YouTube video that shows a smaller Pacific sleeper shark in King Cove Lagoon, King Cove, Alaska. There were several new supposed sightings in 2017. The Anchorage Daily News once offered a prize of $100,000 for concrete proof of its existence.

References

External links

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Lake Iliamna Dam in Minecraft
{{authority control Lakes of Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Lakes of Alaska